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Vietnam War
Decolonisation September 16, 1955. Charles de Gaulle, chairman of the Allied Nations, 1955-1969. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Allied Nations, I thank the people of the free world for this responsibility. The weight of the continued existence and prosperity is much more than any one man can bear. But these are dark times we live in. The tyrannical oppression of Communism continues to spread across every corner of the world without rest. Every nation in the world stands at the forefront of conflict. To this end, I ask the Allied Nations to deploy its military forces to combat and contain this cancer of Marxist Revolution. To Asia, Africa, the Eastern Front, and to the seven seas. We must combat this plague wherever it may fester." During the Second World War, the armies of the Soviet Union and Communist China occupied several European colonies in Asia and throughout much of the Middle East. Though the Communist forces were eventually defeated by the Allied Nations, uprisings and independence attempts plagued several nations within the Allies. To restore order over their possessions, several European nations aided one another in these endeavours. The results were mixed, but overall the Allies had managed to contain the spread of communism by the end of many wars. As part of the general post war policy of the Allied Nations, decolonisation soon followed, tentatively leading to the creation of a nebulous Indochinese state, to be further negotiated. Cherdenko's Puppet January 23, 1956. Anatoly Cherdenko, Premier of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics. We, the people of the Soviet Union, should take a keen interest in the current Revolution ongoing in French Indochina. Our allies in the eventual liberation of the people have been denied their revolution, and instead of a true socialist state, they are forced to endure the oppression of the Allied Nations! Our brothers in the Communist Party of China also share our views and are willing to aid the burdened people of the new nation of Vietnam. Together our combined efforts will route the Allies from all of Asia. We will crush their colonies under our might and together, liberate the world from the horrors of colonialism. In Eastern Indochina along the border with China, communist revolutionary forces, trained and equipped by Maoist and Soviet advisors, prepared to disrupt the negotiations and spark a communist revolution. When French Indochina was granted autonomy from the Republic of France, the Viet Minh struck several key institutions across the country, only to be met by heavy resistance from far-right and nationalist militia. The newly formed country was plunged into chaos, leading the Allies, as a test run of the newly formed Peacekeeper divisions, to deploy a sizable intervention force intended to quell hostilities on both sides and get negotiations back on track. North vs South Four years after the initial deployment of Peacekeepers in French Indochina, the United States of America intervened in the conflict by recognizing the existence of pre-colonial boundaries that separated the Territory into three separate nations; the Kingdom of Laos, the Kingdom of Cambodia, and the State of Vietnam. The Soviet Union opposed this solution and threatened war if it were to be passed. As a compromise, North Vietnam was declared an independent state that would govern the land above the 17th north parallel, leaving the Republic of Vietnam, or South Vietnam as it soon became known, below it. Almost before the ink was dry on the agreement, communist forces from North Vietnam began hostile action against South Vietnam, with fighters crossing the border to destroy infrastructure. In response, locals close to the border formed a roving group of militia dedicated to protecting against these incursions, an organisation that was soon adapted into the rapidly forming government as the ARVN; the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Unfortunately for South Vietnam, that government was quickly co-opted by nationalist President Ngô Đình Diệm, an incredibly corrupt, bigoted pseudofascist who abused his power considerably, doing everything he could to oppress the rural people of Vietnam. This created a great deal of resentment against the South Vietnamese government that was quickly exploited by the North, which even then was gearing up for war with the South to unify Vietnam. Codifying the border fighters and insurgents recruited from the South as the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, or "Vietcong", as they were soon branded by the South Vietnamese government and western media, these fighters did whatever they could to weaken South Vietnam before the North struck. While the ARVN attempted to mobilise to deal with these insurgents, the government interfered, forcing the ARVN to garrison the cities to keep the "peasant rabble" out while saddling them with terrible officers promoted by the nepotism of government officials. By late 1962, South Vietnam was almost crippled economically by VC action, and its government was completely unprepared when the first divisions of NVA (North Vietnamese Army) rolled over the border. Hold it Together As news of the North Vietnamese Army's attack filtered in, Ngô Đình Diệm's government immediately began plans to abandon the country with their wealth, leaving the population to their fate. They were right to worry; their army, crippled by corruption and rooted in place by government interference, was completely incapable of reacting to the attack or mobilising in time to do anything. However, the NVA attack, which by rights should have bulldozed straight over the whole country, was intercepted by an unlikely force of ARVN special forces and loyal local militia, a group that called itself the Rangers. The Rangers, under the command of tactical genius Ngô Quang Trưởng, tore into the NVA like a pack of wolves, leading two divisions into the Ia Drang Valley and destroying them over the course of a week's hard fighting. Sent reeling by the destruction of their centre line, the NVA attack faltered long enough for the rest of the ARVN to mount a counter attack and force the NVA back to the 17th parallel. Unfortunately, lack of support from the government and supply lines under constant threat by the VC meant the ARVN were forced to withdraw to a more defensible position, creating a DMZ dividing North from South. Over the next two years, Ngô Quang Trưởng's Rangers led the way for the ARVN, keeping the country together against numerous incursions by the NVA as well as the constant threat from the VC. However, the omnipresent corruption and bigoted policies of Ngô Đình Diệm's government was causing serious resentment, causing the ARVN to lose ground step by step. Finally, in May of 1965, the ARVN leadership led a coup against the civilian government, arresting much of the cabinet and replacing them with a military council, which began the long, tedious process of rebuilding trust in the government and finally setting the country on a war footing. A Call for Help The grim realization was that South Vietnam couldn't hang on. Its economy crippled and infrastructure in ruins thanks to the VC and NVA attacks, its population living in constant fear, and its army dwarfed by a vastly better equipped enemy in the North, the country was simply not viable on its own; all that was keeping it on its feet was a trickle of supplies from the Allied Nations. Hoping to turn the trickle into a torrent, the ARVN council petitioned the Allied Nations for membership. Though they were turned down due to their lack of a democratic government, the Allies pledged to send reinforcements and aid to drive the communists back. Unfortunately, before Allied forces could move out, a missile caught the wing of Gary Powers's SR-8 Thrush spy plane, leaving the unfortunate pilot spiralling to the ground of the Soviet Union for the second time in five years. Cherdenko wasted no time using this as a pretence to launch WW3, pulling the Allies into conflict and leaving South Vietnam to twist in the wind. This would have been the end for South Vietnam, if not for Ngô Quang Trưởng. The general of the Rangers took power in 1967, and led a series of counter-attacks against the NVA that kept them at bay for longer than anyone could have expected. Though he could not hope to win, each daring strike launched by the ARVN delayed the inevitable a little longer in the hopes that someone could eventually come to their aid. The Tết Offensive As the war in Europe wound to a close, the North began to realize their time was up. They had had free reign for five years, but if they did not end the war soon, they would risk Allied intervention. Thus, on February 16, 1969, Tết Nguyên Đán (The lunar New Year), the NVA launched a massive attack on the South, intended to crush them once and for all. Thousands of tanks, IFVs and other vehicles roared across the DMZ, destroying and routing ARVN forces and pushing forward at a rate of ten kilometres a day. The attacks were simply too much for the ARVN to handle; Hue and Da Nang were evacuated and overrun. Communist forces were closing on Nha Trang when a new player entered the game; an Allied carrier group, carrying with it a strike force of Peacekeepers and a massive amount of firepower. Assault Destroyers waded ashore and pushed into the jungles, and Sky Knights shattered divisions of Rhino tanks with precision attacks. Supported by the Peacekeepers, the ARVN struck back, Ranger groups advancing into the disrupted NVA lines and causing a large amount of chaos. Within a week, the NVA was in full retreat, all semblance of order lost and chased all the way to the 17th parallel, leaving a trail of abandoned equipment and wrecked vehicles behind. Victor Charlie Before the Allies and the ARVN could capitalize on their victory and push into North Vietnam itself, an old threat reasserted itself. The Vietcong had quietly followed behind the counterattack, collecting the equipment left by the fleeing NVA. Before a force forgotten in the face of constant assault by NVA regulars, the Vietcong had been biding their time in the jungles, building massive tunnel lines, underground workshops, and sprawling hidden complexes which they were now putting to good use. Allied staging points were raided by ancient, rusting Bulldogs and Pincer ICVs with fresh shell holes, vehicles that faded back into the jungle as suddenly as they appeared, and the black uniform of Victor Charlie was omnipresent wherever the Allies tried to move men or supplies. It was becoming very clear that the ARVN didn't control nearly as much of the country as they had hoped, and the Peacekeepers simply didn't have the manpower for such an intense level of anti-insurgency warfare. To close the gaps, the Allies approved of a plan to send Reservist forces from willing nations. Controversially, many of these reservists came from the United States, whose government had recently walked out and was currently being run by Allied appointments. Thus, the ARVN and the Allies have knuckled down for brutal warfare against an enemy as elusive as smoke; the man they call Victor Charlie. Category:Wars Category:Vietnam